Sell-side strategists are marching in lockstep optimism, with the average year-end S&P 500 forecast implying a 9% gain this year

AT THE big banks and the boutique investment shops, an optimistic consensus has taken hold: The US stock market will rally in 2026 for a fourth straight year, marking the longest winning streak in nearly two decades.

There’s plenty of angst about the risks to the bull run that has pushed the S&P 500 Index up some 90 per cent since its October 2022 low.

The artificial intelligence (AI) boom could turn to bust. The economy – and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decisions – could defy expectations. And US President Donald Trump’s second year could bring even more unanticipated shocks than his first.

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